The ongoing cost of ownership

Sometimes, people are reluctant to get rid of items they own because they paid a lot of money for them. I’m talking here about items that are no longer useful or loved or important, but are kept simply because the owner perceives them, rightly or not, as valuable. After all, why would you get rid of something if you paid a lot of money for it? Well, I can see that point, but… Have you ever thought about the ongoing cost of ownership?

First of all, an item takes up space. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a grand piano or a diamond ring, it takes up space in your home, and you pay for space. If it’s a piano, the amount of space is significant! Think about what else you could do with that space if the piano that you don’t use weren’t there. Could you turn that room into a dining room? A home office? A reading nook? Do you have so many unused large items that you are essentially paying rent or a mortgage for a room you don’t need? Are you getting your money’s worth from your space?

This photo was taken by Geert Pieters for Unsplash.

Plus, any object needs to be managed. You have to clean it, clean around or under it, maintain it, repair it, insure it, pick it up and put it away… It costs you time and energy, in addition to mental bandwidth! Managing this item will cost you, and you need to make sure that the cost is worth it in this season of your life.

Then it comes down to the sunk cost fallacy. When we have invested heavily in an item (because we paid a lot of money for it, because we believe that someday we will use up all those scrapbooking supplies, etc.), we are reluctant to let it go, even when we know that letting it go would be more beneficial than keeping it.

This photo was taken by volodymyr proskurovskyi for Unsplash.

There are two quotes on this topic that I’d like to share, and I say variations of these things to my clients often. First, Peter Walsh wants us to keep in mind that just as “inexpensive is not a good reason to buy something, expensive is not a good reason to keep something.” Also, Cassandra Aarssen says, “Remember that the money you spent on your item is gone. You will not be richer because you store this item in your home, and you won’t be poorer if you let it go.”

An obvious solution, in those cases, is to sell the item. Or at least, it seems easy in theory, but is less so in practice. Ask yourself whether selling the object is really worth your time and effort. Will you post pictures of it online and field inquiries from people who might be interested, or pay to ship it to the buyer? Will you really have a yard sale or go to multiple consignment stores? Will you be satisfied with getting only a fraction of your money back after all that effort? If yes, then go for it!

Here’s another solution: look at the cost you already paid as a rental fee. You’ve gotten whatever use you were going to get out of this, and now it’s time to let it go. If you must try to sell it, give yourself a deadline after which you will just donate it. Move it along to its next owner, and your payment will be the peace this brings into your life. Besides, the money you spent on it is gone already, even if you were to keep the item! At least this way you get your life back.

This photo was taken by Fuu J for Unsplash.